Caramel Frosted Cupcakes

Not a huge departure from what I've done in the past, but who doesn't like chocolate and caramel together?  Just before girl's night this month I realized that we hadn't properly celebrated our friend Jen's birthday.  I remembered from a previous party that Jen had mentioned the only thing that could make these cupcakes any better would be if they had caramel inside them.  Unfortunately I didn't have the time to experiment with this idea (although I'd like to in the future!); I decided the next best thing would be caramel buttercream frosting on the chocolate cupcakes.

I used this cupcake recipe and used the buttercream seen there as a base for the frosting

Caramel Buttercream Frosting

12 oz (approximately) of unwrapped caramel candies
1 tsp water
1 cup butter, room temperature 
5 cups powdered sugar
2 tbs milk
1 tsp vanilla extract


In a large bowl, cream together the butter and vanilla. Blend the sugar in one cup at a time.  You may need to stop and scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl a few times to make sure it all gets thoroughly incorporated.  Microwave the caramel and water in a separate bowl until melted and smooth.  Allow it to cool just a little bit and then temper it by adding about 1/2 cup of the butter-sugar mixture until smooth.  Then incorporate the caramel into the rest of the butter and sugar mixture.  Beat in the milk and vanilla and continue mixing until well incorporated.  Make sure the cupcakes are completely cool before frosting.

The frosting is really fantastic and goes perfectly with the chocolate cake.  The caramel flavor isn't overwhelmingly strong, but you'll definitely know it's there and once in a while you get a nice chewy little piece of caramel that didn't get fully mixed in.  Yum!

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